Kill The Machine
by raeweis
Summary: Amy Rose stood in line, wearing a brave face as she affronted her inevitable fate. She gazed ahead into the factory, but suddenly wished she hadn't. Her eyes had fallen on a blue hedgehog, her hero, her love. Seeing his eyes so… lifeless created an unfathomable pain in her heart. Silently she mouthed a single word. "Sonic…" Sonamy Oneshot


**All characters are copyright of SEGA. Claim these characters as your own and you will be sued. Kapeesh?**

**Kill the Machine**

A dark hallway, the only light coming from the sparse cracks in a rotting door frame. A desolate prison, the only sounds being the patter of water dripping from a rusted pipe. Unimaginable horrors that lay just beyond a single door.

A lone life form was slumped against the wall, chained and tethered to prevent movement. The scant amount of light highlighted this figure, outlining spiked quills protruding from its head. The figure was unconscious, hanging limply against the restraints.

With a gasp the figure came to, panting and shaking as it gazed around wildly through frightened eyes. It tried to move only to find it couldn't. The chains rattled and the figure began coughing and hacking out spit and phlegm, panic rising as it could not break free from its bindings.

"Hello?" Its voice was a hoarse whisper. It coughed and tried again. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

As if in response, the door at the far end of the hall opened and a metallic creature entered the room. This robot had thin wiry limbs that resembled those of a prehistoric raptor, though much smaller. It had a smooth oval head and two glowing red eyes.

The robot made its way over to the frightened figure, its feet clanking against the harsh metal floor. It came face to face with the figure, who tried its best to hold back a pitiful whimper.

"Where am I?" the figure asked in its hoarse whisper. If the robot had heard, it ignored the question.

"Report, the hedgehog is awake sir." The robot spoke in its monotone voice into a small microphone situated just above its jaw line.

Both figures were silent as they waited. Once again, the door opened. This time, a human entered. This human was tall and had a very rotund waist. He had a bald head and a greasy ginger moustache on his upper lip. Over his beady eyes he wore thick goggles. He also had on tight fitting black pants and a red jacket that was stretched immensely over his wide girth. With a cruel smirk the man approached the captive figure.

"Now then Sonic, are you ready to behave today?" the man asked.

The figure, world-renowned hero Sonic the Hedgehog, chuckled. "Don't bet on it, Egghead."

"I was afraid so." Eggman's smirk never wavered. "I, however, have the solution to this slight dilemma."

The man turned to a small control panel on the wall and typed in a few commands. A glass containment unit above the panel lit up with a sickening blue light, revealing within a glass cylinder connected to a clear tube, which in turn was connected to a needle inserted into Sonic's wrist. The glass container was filled with a strange clear substance.

Sonic's eyes widened in fear. Eggman chuckled sadistically at this reaction. The doctor pressed a small button and immediately the liquid was dispensed from the cylinder through the tube and into the blue hedgehog's veins.

Sonic's breath came out in shallow, ragged gasps as he tried to fight the toxins invading his bloodstream. It only made the evil doctor laugh more as he witnessed his enemy's futile attempts to battle the poison.

Eventually Sonic's body went limp, his eyes closed and his head bowed as he sagged against the restraints.

"Ready to cooperate?" Dr. Eggman asked.

Sonic's head slowly raised, eyelids lifting to reveal dull jade eyes full of cold indifference. A small nod followed. Eggman's smirk widened.

Sonic was led down various corridors by the raptor-like robot. The pair eventually came to a stop at a dully lit room. The room was very small and narrow, the walls bare save for the heavy steel door set opposite to the entrance.

Against the wall immediately perpendicular to the door stood two other Mobian creatures, each with equally cruel cold stares as Sonic's. A robot sentry stood watch over these two creatures. If Sonic had been himself and not under the influence of the drug, he would have been able to easily recognize these two creatures. One was an echidna with fiery red fur while the other was a hedgehog with midnight fur and streaks as crimson as blood.

You see, the great genius Dr. Ivo Robotnik had been trying to create ways to enslave Mobians for many years. At first, the notorious genius had tried to trap small animals within the bodies of cold machines, but the machines could easily be broken and the animals set free. He had also tried to convert organic beings into robotic counterparts using a machine first created by Sir Charles Hedgehog, but the process was long and used many valuable resources as well as could be easily reversed. There were also the rare occasions in which victims of this process managed to regain free-will, and free-will was something that a slave could not have.

In the face of these problems, Robotnik created a special serum that managed to dull the brain enough that it could no longer think for itself. Basic processes like heart beat and breathing were sustained, but consciences and that pesky free-will were rendered incapacitated. The beings were then easy to manipulate, creating the perfect slaves.

All that had been left to do was test this drug. Getting the drug administered into the echidna was simple (he was quite gullible), but the two hedgehogs had proved more challenging. This did not faze the mad scientist, however. Using stealth that would seem impossible for a man of his size, he stole into the homes of the hedgehogs while they dreamt. It had been a tedious task, but for a skilled man like himself Robotnik saw it as mere child's play. Of course, using sleep inducing gas hadn't hurt.

Although this drug was highly advanced, it too had its imperfections. The substance could not be made in a very concentrated form, so it quickly wore off, returning to the victims a sense of awareness and free thought. The solution to this problem was simple: just find a way to administer more of the toxin as it began to wear off. Doing this task manually was tiresome, and made it difficult for the doctor to conduct other plans as robots were incapable of doing this careful job. Being the genius he was though, Robotnik found a way around his little hitch.

The solution came in the form of a leather band about the length of the animals' forearms. When the band was strapped onto the slaves' arms, a needle was automatically inserted into their veins. The needles were attached to tubes that led to a vile of the drug, enough to last twenty-four hours in the least. Over the course of the day the needle dripped small amounts of the toxins into the bloodstream in order to ensure loyalty from the slaves.

Sonic took his place in the lineup, face completely expressionless. Robots hustled around them, strapping the leather onto the arms of the three Mobians. Sonic felt the needle pierce his skin, but showed no signs of pain. After that task was done, the thick steel door was opened and the trio marched out into a dark, dingy factory.

The factory reeked of oil and smoke. The ceiling of the building was high, and midway along the wall was a narrow metal walkway on which many sentry robots stood, each wielding dangerous looking weapons. There were also matching robots around the perimeter of the main floor of the factory. To the left of the three Mobians was a thick wooden door that stretched almost as high as the roof. A bulky robot stood guard at this door, awaiting its orders.

In the middle of this room was a medium sized machine. It was the Roboticizer, only it was modified to administer the drug when a Mobian was placed inside of it. Off to the side of the machine was a platform slightly raised off the ground on which the control panel sat.

The three Mobians took up their assigned positions; the two hedgehogs stood in front of the machine while the echidna stood at its rear, ready to give out orders to the new slaves.

Capturing these three specific Mobians first was all part of Eggman's strategy. You see, the other Mobians would be terrified when brought to this large foreboding factory, but seeing a few of the world's greatest defenders would restore a sense of security within the animals. A sense of security that would be soon ripped away.

Dr. Robotnik entered the building and took up a seat behind the control panel. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he typed in the command to start the machine. With a loud whirring noise the machine roared to life. Lights on the sides of the machine blinked red and yellow with activity. The mechanical workings from within created exhaust that poured out from the machine, layering the floor of the factory with a thick white fog.

Eggman clasped his hands together. It was time to begin!

On the evil doctor's command, the bulky robot at the entrance unfastened the chains that bound it shut and swung open the large wooden doors. In a line outside of the factory stood many frightened Mobians of all ages and genders. They relaxed slightly when they saw their planet's defenders, but panic soon set in again as they saw the cold stares that were so alien to the heroes (save for one black hedgehog).

The robot backed away as the dark hedgehog got into place. He reached out and grasped the arm of the first victim, a brown female squirrel, and roughly pushed her towards Sonic. Sonic then proceeded to shove the squirrel into the machine.

The machine rumbled and clicked as it worked. A single high pitched beep signaled that it was done. The echidna reached in a yanked the enslaved squirrel from the machine before directing her towards a room in which robots would strap the leather band onto her forearm just like the one he bore.

The process continued in a mechanical calculated fashion. Everything had been planned out to the last detail. Eggman smiled in sadistic glee as his plans unfolded before him. The process was very efficient, and in no time the workers had successfully enslaved a quarter of the gathered Mobians.

Standing in line not too far from the front was a young rose hedgehog. She had on a brave face, trying to conceal the waves of pure fear that bubbled within her. The hedgehog, Amy Rose, gazed ahead into the factory. She wished she hadn't.

Her eyes had fallen on a blue hedgehog, her hero, her love. Seeing his eyes so… lifeless created an unfathomable pain in her heart. Silently she mouthed a single word. "Sonic…"

She had been so consumed by the pain that she hadn't noticed she was now at the front of the line. A strong hand grasped her upper arm and she gasped in pain from the tight grip. She looked up fearfully into the cold, dark red eyes of one she once knew. There was nothing there; no flicker of recognition, no spark of remorse, nothing. The dark hedgehog roughly shoved Amy ahead, towards her inevitable fate.

She stumbled and almost fell when someone caught her. She looked up hopefully into the face of her hero, but Sonic's face was as cold and impassive as ever. Tears welled in her eyes and her heart broke all over again at seeing him so void of life and spirit. He tried to shove her into the machine as well but she resisted, gripping the blue hedgehog's arms tight. She screamed at him, begging him to stop, to fight Eggman's control.

"Please Sonic, don't do this! This isn't you!" She cried out. "Please Sonic! Stop… Sonic…"

Her pleas fell on deaf ears, but the blue hedgehog's eyes wandered to a strange object on the girl's wrist. It was a bracelet, fashioned from lightly colored seashells and old string. Amy had made it as a replacement for the one that had been destroyed by one of Robotnik's monsters on the beach many weeks ago. She was going to give it to Sonic, but had been captured by Eggman's robotic minions before she got the chance.

Sonic grabbed her wrist and pulled it towards him, scrutinizing over the bracelet in confusion. Amy watched, hope flaring in her chest once again.

That bracelet looked so familiar to the cobalt hedgehog. But where had he seen it before?

Images flashed through his mind. There was a beach, and a hotel that was being terrorized by the doctor's robots. One of his creations, a metallic octopus, had been trying to drown Sonic, but Amy had smashed through its tubed tentacles and saved him from certain death. The pink hedgehog had given her blue hero the bracelet as a good luck charm, but it had been crushed by one of the doctor's robots. Sonic had recovered the broken bracelet and repaired it, and kept it in a tiny box inside his room. He still had that bracelet.

Something snapped inside Sonic. With an angry growl he released Amy and tore the leather band from his forearm. The toxins were still in his bloodstream, but Sonic knew he would be able to overcome them. He just had to.

"Sonic…" Amy started, but stopped as a grin spread across Sonic's face. Not the cruel smile that adorned enslaved features, but a genuine smile of happiness and determination.

"I say it's about time ol' Robuttnik got what's coming to him." Sonic curled his hand into a fist. "Let's kill the machine."

Amy smiled in pure joy at seeing her hero back to his old self. Sonic grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the machine, leading her towards the door. "Run! Everyone, get out of here!"

The Mobians were filled with hope at the sound of Sonic's voice. They immediately obeyed his command, turning tail and rushing out the door. The scene inside the factory was pure chaos. Dr. Robotnik shouted commands at his robots, slamming his fists on the table in anger and frustration at the shocking turn of events.

Robots hustled around the factory, trying to keep the many Mobians from escaping the building. Many shots were fired. Bodies fell to the floor.

Sonic and Amy had almost made it to the entrance. Many of the Mobians had already escaped, but there were still many more that had yet to leave. Sonic growled and released Amy's hand before spin-dashing a robot that had been holding a small group of animals at gun point. The animals shouted their thanks before rushing out the door of the factory.

Sonic went to grab for Amy's hand but instead felt a vice-like grip seize his throat. Amy screamed.

Sonic stared in shock into the cold red eyes of the Ultimate Lifeform. The dark hedgehog's face was completely expressionless, nothing but stoic features and dead eyes. Sonic gasped as he struggled for breath. "Shadow…"

"_Let him go!_" Amy shrieked as she pounded on Shadow's arm, trying to force him to release his grip on Sonic. Shadow lifted his free arm and backhanded Amy hard across the cheek, not once taking his eyes off Sonic.

Amy crashed to the floor from the force of the blow, tears welling in her eyes. She screamed Sonic's name again, screamed at Shadow to release him, but to no avail. The dark hedgehog never wavered.

Sonic clawed at Shadow's hand, trying to pry his rival's fingers from his throat. Shadow's grip did not loosen. The ebony hedgehog slowly raised his arm. Mobius' hero now dangled inches from the floor.

"Shadow…stop it…please…can't…breathe." Sonic gasped and choked as he struggled to breathe. "Please…Shad…"

Sonic's vision was blurring, growing dark around the edges. "…Sha…dow…"

Across the factory floor, an echidna watched the chaos unfold around him. He had watched as Sonic ripped the leather band from his arm, and was now fingering his own band curiously. _Curiosity;_ a feeling he should not have been able to experience under Eggman's serum.

Something in his mind was trying to break through the haze created by the drug. It was important, he knew that much, but he wasn't sure what it was. An idea, perhaps? No, that was impossible. He was a slave, he couldn't think for himself! But maybe…maybe he could.

Memories broke through the haze. He hadn't always been a slave. No, he was a protector, a guardian, and right now there were animals he had to save.

With a guttural growl he ripped the band from his arm. Free of the dumbing toxins he could think clearer. He released a war cry and smashed his spiked fists into the blasted machine. The satisfying sound of crunching metal followed his attack. He smiled as he continued to assault the machine. It was going to take a while to destroy this machine, but he was willing to spend the time.

Meanwhile, Sonic knew he'd have to free himself of his rival's grip soon or else he would pass out. He struggled in Shadow's grasp and many times tried to knock the leather band from his arm, but nothing was working. He'd have to switch tactics.

"Sha…please…she wouldn't… she wouldn't want this…Shadow… do it for her…"

Sonic felt his eyelids growing heavy. Struggling for one last breath, he closed his eyes and got ready to give in to the darkness. However, the darkness never came.

Sonic felt the grip on his throat loosen. He opened his eyes in shock as he was slowly lowered to the ground. The Ultimate Lifeform's eyes were wide in horror at what he had been doing. Releasing Sonic, he began to stammer and apology but Sonic shook his head. A knowing look passed between the two, an unspoken plan, as the dark hedgehog removed the leather band from his arm. Shadow nodded, before turning to help the remaining Mobians escape.

Sonic grabbed Amy's hand and continued on his way to the door, pulling her behind him. He dodged around the masses of frightened Mobians and robots. Soon he was at the entrance.

The blue hedgehog turned back and looked into the factory. Almost all of the Mobians had escaped, though a few were lying motionless on the floor, blood still pouring from bullet holes. Shadow was helping a small group of the remaining Mobians escape, downing robots in order to create a safe path to the outside world. He ushered the animals through the door, before nodding to Sonic and disappearing after them.

Sonic saw that Knuckles was still pounding on the machine. The machine sparked and smoked from the attacks, but was not completely destroyed. An idea struck Sonic.

"Amy, I need you to run away as far as you can." He told the pink hedgehog beside him. "Regroup with the others, but please promise me that you won't come back."

"But Sonic…"

"Promise me, no matter what, you will not turn around. You will keep running."

Sonic gazed deep into Amy's emerald eyes. She felt tears coming again, but she blinked them away and nodded. "I promise."

"Good." Sonic smiled at her one last time. "Goodbye Amy."

With that said, Sonic pushed Amy away. She began running, and did not stop. Sonic watched her go for a while, before turning back to the factory and the machine. His eyes wandered and fell on a gas tank not far off. He rushed over and grabbed a large metal container filled with the flammable substance. "Everyone, stand clear!"

Knuckles ceased his attack and began to retreat out of the building. Eggman had long ago left after seeing his plans fail once again. Sonic took a deep breath before sprinting towards the machine. With a loud grunt he hurled the container at the evil machine.

The light was intense.

Despite her promise to Sonic, Amy turned back around just in time to see the factory go up in flames. The explosion rocked the ground and sent debris flying through the air. She screamed.

The entire factory was engulfed by a fiery inferno as the gasoline reacted violently with the sparking machine. Still screaming, Amy made a rush at the factory. Strong arms gripped around her arms and stomach and she was hauled backwards, away from the blaze.

Amy cried out again as she fought against the Ultimate Lifeform. Shadow held her back still, trying his hardest to calm her down. She wouldn't have any of it.

"No…Sonic was in there! He was in the building! Oh gosh…Sonic!"

"Amy, calm down!" Shadow's voice was gentle yet firm. "Sonic will be fine. Trust me, he'll be alright…" He trailed off, finding that his voice had caught in his throat.

The smoke from the explosion was clearing, revealing the destruction left in its wake. Among the broken machinery and trashed robotic parts was a single organic body lying motionless on the cold cement floor.

Amy cried out again, pain tearing at her heart. This time, Shadow could find no words of comfort. Amy's legs gave out and she almost collapsed, but the other hedgehog's grip on her kept her off of the ground. Another pained cry tore from her throat.

"Sonic…Sonic…" She whimpered, her voice a hoarse whisper.

Another explosion rocked the grounds, almost sending the two hedgehogs tumbling to the ground.

"Amy, let's…We must get out of here. Now." Shadow's voice was quiet. Solemn.

Amy seemed to have not heard, but she did not resist as he pulled her away from the burning building.

**VvVvVvV**

Lying on the frigid stone floor, the blue hedgehog coughed smoke from his lungs. He felt no pain, hadn't felt the fire as it burned at his fur, hadn't felt his body collide with the floor. He was past feeling.

Slowly, his right hand uncurled from a tight fist, and he gazed at the small object set in his palm. It was a homemade sea shell bracelet, the bracelet that Amy was going to give to him. While they had been escaping, Amy's bracelet had come off in his hand. He had been meaning to return it to her, but the thought had slipped his mind during the turmoil.

"Amy…" he whispered quietly, though no one was there to hear.

Gradually, his eyes closed, and one last breath escaped his lungs. A slight smile graced his lips, and then, he was gone.

The End

* * *

**Oh my gosh, did I just write some romance? And of course, it ended in tragedy. Ah well!**

**This fic is based off of the music video for the song "Kill the Machine" by Red. It's an awesome video, awesome song, awesome band. Check 'em out!**

**And please, leave a review!**


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